It was like Christmas in August for me, as my mating with Craig and the birth of my sons were both being celebrated. I was in tears as I opened gifts from new friends and old. Many of the Alphas I had visited in my goodwill tour were already here. We had finished a huge meal on the back patio, and all the Alphas and Lunas were now relaxing around the fire pit in the back yard with adult beverages. Looking around the circle, I smiled as I thought of all the friends I had made in a short time.
Craig was sitting in a big Adirondack chair with me on his lap. I had the babies with, not that I got to hold them much in this crowd- all of the Lunas and some of the Alphas wanted to hold my boys. To our left were Charles and Elise Jennings, of the Vermillion Pack, then Roman and Christine Peters of the LaCrosse pack, Nicholas and Abby Anders of the Battle Lake pack, and Doug and Remi across from us. On our right side was my parent’s close friend, Alpha Female Rose Stormwater of the Fort Berthold pack to our south. She was the one who granted Olivia permission to live with Mark in Dickinson. To her right were Frank and Tina McDonald of the Minot pack, and Al and Carol Coleman, new Alphas of the North Shore pack.
Carol was starting to relax now. Things had been a little testy for her since the other Alphas and their Packs knew of her involvement in what happened to me. I squashed this hard when I found it, going out of my way to hug her and talk up our friendship and alliance. I made it clear that I had forgiven her and that was that.
There had been one mating thus far, and we were all thrilled with that. Doug and Remi’s son Nathan found his mate in Nicolette Anders, the eldest daughter of the Battle Lake Alphas. It was funny, one moment he was helping man the steaks on the grill, and the next he was kissing the hell out of a pretty young blonde who had dropped her bowl of salad on the ground. All matings were celebrated, so when this happened just before dinner it made the night. Both sets of parents were thrilled, and the happy couple was sent by me to a remote cabin on my property where they could have some privacy. Remi and Abby were already talking about baby names and nursery patterns as they got to know their mate’s parents. Nicolette would return to the Johnson pack with Nathan, and Nicholas and Abby would visit them in a week and bring her stuff from their home.
There were high hopes that this was the first of many, as the majority of single wolves would be arriving tomorrow.
We updated everyone on the progress of our plans to get revenge on the remaining three Packs, including what happened with Olivia. Alpha Lewis was still out on bail, and the County Attorney had set a trial date for the first week in October. Alpha Goodwin was still hiding in Argentina, and when we told the story about Black Ker’s visit, the emotions and reactions were all over the place. It seemed everyone had a healthy respect for the panther, but none wanted to be anywhere near her. They were hopeful she would help retrieve him. Alpha Anderson was down to a single son and heir after ‘losing’ Craig and banishing Olivia. We asked the other Alphas to use their command to keep any of their members from talking about Craig being alive and the Belden Pack Alpha, and they all agreed.
The Alphas had done a fine job of isolating the three Packs. Our intercepts and the intelligence we gathered from allied Pack wolves showed the Packs were losing patience with their Alphas. The St. Cloud pack was practically on our side now, since we both wanted Marvin dead. I wasn’t ready to call them an ally or trust them just yet, though.
When the boys woke up, it was time for me to go. I collected them and Renee came to help me get them ready for bed. The fellowship time was almost over anyway, and the combined Pack Run that was coming I couldn’t participate in anyway. Renee got to sleep over with me, as the adults would not be back until near sunrise.
I went to sleep that night more optimistic for my future than I had ever been. Everything was going according to plan.
The morning came, and along with it came the crying babies. Renee woke up and got out of the bed, heading back to the small room that she had to herself now that Nathan was mated. I got up and changed my boys, then brought them back to bed with me to feed them. I had come to love this time, the feeling of them sucking hard on my breasts, taking what they needed from me. When they were full, burped and ready for the day, I placed them between me and a still sleeping Craig on our large bed.
He had come to bed late, and was still sleeping hard. I played with their hands and feet as they smiled at me, until Marge knocked on the door. “Come in,” I said.
She smiled as she walked over to the bed and tickled Darryl until he giggled at her. “Go get dressed, I’ll take them out. They won’t be lacking attention today.”
“All right, just make sure you or Mabel is keeping an eye on them.” She put one in each arm and left as I headed for the shower.
When I got out to the living room, only the younger visitors who hadn’t gone on the run last night were there. Mabel brought me a coffee and some sliced fruit while I chatted with them and my Pack members. Renee volunteered to watch them until they fell asleep again, so I went into the kitchen which was a madhouse of activity. “Need some help?”
“Not from you,” Mabel said. “We’ve got plenty of hands getting lunch ready to go, and you’re the Host Alpha of this party. We expect a steady stream of visitors arriving throughout the day, and you need to do the meet and greet thing.”
I nodded. “You have the housing plan?”
She handed me a copy and showed me where the ones were to hand out; the overhead view of our neighborhood was shown, each Pack having houses and tent areas around their house. It was best if the Pack was settled together so they would feel more comfortable. “The ones that are going to be using tents have been told, the spots have been marked in the yards. We’ve got breakfast going on the back patio until nine, then we have to start clearing everything out for lunch.”
Sure enough, every twenty minutes or so I’d get a text from our security folks that more vehicles were arriving. The Alphas could be a fun group, but many were as old as my parents and could be serious. Most of the people arriving today were around my age, excited to meet people and hopefully find their mate.
I directed them to their lodging and invited them to come back to the pool and backyard area for informal socializing. We had a bunch of things to do; the pool and hot tub were open, we had volleyball, horseshoes and Ultimate Frisbee, and the Greens had brought out their ATV’s and motorcycles. By ten in the morning, the party was in full swing and I saw the helpers starting to get things going for lunch.